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Cracking down on burglaries

4 February 2009

The Home Secretary held a burglary summit today with charities and representatives of the insurance industry to find new, innovative ways to deal with this crime.

Representatives from groups including the Association of British Insurers, Age Concern, Citizens Advice Bureau, hardware store chains, Crimestoppers and Norwich Union/Aviva met with Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to discuss reducing crime.

The Home Secretary said, 'Burglary has more than halved in the last ten years, and I am determined to stay on the front foot. The police are better equipped than ever before to meet the current challenges, but we all have a role to play in presenting a united front.'

Making people safer

The summit is part of a series of initiatives now underway to make people safer from crime.

The Home Secretary is determined that the economic recession should not cause crime rates to increase.

In an interview she told the BBC, 'I think it's important that we act before there's a problem.

'I want to make sure that we're providing people with the best possible advice to protect their homes, and that we're bringing together the partners that can help to keep burglary down.'

More anti-crime information now on this website

The steps being taken now include a new £20m fund to help people strengthen their home security. It will target the 14% of homes without window locks, and the 18% without adequate doors.

Another initiative is a new section on this website, offering a single-source of information on how best to protect your home from burglars, including information on how thick wood doors should be, and what kind of locks you ought to have.